Undefeated Broncos way too possessive for Patriots

FOXBOROUGH – The Denver Broncos tore through the New England defense for touchdown drives of 98 and 90 yards. The number that upset the Patriots more was 14 – as in points allowed on the lengthy marches.

To coach Bill Belichick, the distance of the journey mattered less than the destination.

“Any time they get it into the end zone, that’s not a good feeling,” he said Monday. “It doesn’t matter if it’s 90 or 10 (yards). If we get a chance to stop them, then that’s our job to stop them.”

The Patriots didn’t do it enough and lost 20-17 in overtime on Sunday, falling to 3-2 and leaving the Broncos unbeaten at 5-0.

Linebacker Jerod Mayo, last year’s NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year, returned after missing three games with a right knee injury. He had six tackles and forced a fumble.

“He made some plays and there (are) things I’m sure he’ll do better next time around,” Belichick said, “but it was good to have him back out there.”

Mayo and his teammates didn’t make enough good plays on the Broncos’ 90-yard march that cut the Patriots lead to 10-7 in the second quarter or on the 98-yarder that made it 17-17 with 5:21 left in the fourth quarter.

Both series ended with touchdown passes from Kyle Orton to Brandon Marshall.

“It’s tough to see an offense go 98 yards,” said cornerback Leigh Bodden, who missed the tackle on the tying 11-yard score. “But any time they score, I don’t care if they get the ball on the 10-yard line or the 2-yard line, it’s going to be tough.

“Our job is to hold them to at least field goal attempts or just no points at all, so it’s hard either way.”

Six of the 10 plays on the 90-yard drive and four of the 12 on the 98-yarder covered more than 10 yards.

The Patriots couldn’t hold the Broncos on the only overtime series either, a 58-yard drive that ended with Matt Prater’s winning 41-yard field goal.

If Stephen Gostkowski hadn’t missed a 40-yarder in the third quarter with the Patriots ahead 17-10, New England might have won in regulation.

The miss was surprising: Gostkowski had connected on a career-long 53-yarder in the first quarter and had made 12 in a row before the ball hooked to the left.

Like Belichick and Bodden, he didn’t care how much ground was covered. The results are what counted.

“It doesn’t matter,” Gostkowski said. “If it’s a long one, great. . . . You can’t really take any of them for granted.”

The shorter one hurt the team.

“It hooked left on me at the end, and I usually don’t get that kind of movement,” Gostkowski said. “I’ve just got to chalk it up to a missed opportunity and move on. Once I miss, I don’t sit around and sulk about it. I’d be doing the team a disservice by just sitting there and crying about it all day and then let it ruin the next one.”

Tom Brady also had an inconsistent game, his fifth since surgery on his left knee after he was hurt in last year’s opener and missed the rest of the season. He completed 14 of 19 passes for 152 yards and two touchdowns in the first half, but went only 5 for 14 for 63 yards and no touchdowns after that.

The Patriots also failed to convert any of their six third-down plays in the second half.

“In the skill positions, you are always working on timing,” Belichick said. “It’s an ongoing process. It’s everybody. It’s the receivers, tight ends, backs, the quarterback.”

NOTES: Belichick gave no update on left tackle Matt Light, who left with an injured right knee in the fourth quarter and had a brace on it after the game. He was replaced by rookie Sebastian Vollmer, a second-round draft pick. . . . Bodden was surprised when the Broncos started the game in the wildcat formation. “You didn’t see that on film all year from them so it was a surprise to me,” he said. . . . The Patriots face the winless Tennessee Titans on Sunday after playing their first five games against unbeaten teams.